Addressing financial worries starts with listening. That’s why municipality staff go out on the streets and knock on doors. They hand out flyers and flowers and talk to residents. Alderman Abigail Norville participated in such a street action in the Afrikaander district.
Tuğba Sahin works for Geldplein, a department of the municipality. On this Wednesday, she is doing something different from office work. She is standing on the balcony of an apartment at Afrikaanderplein.
Sahin has just rung the doorbell at Mr. Gümüşs place. He opens the door and accepts Sahins flower with a big smile. ‘I am very happy,’ he says when Sahin asks how he is doing.
Sahin continues the conversation in Turkish. In his mother tongue, Gümüş tells Sahin that his wife has just passed away and that he misses her very much. He receives help with financial matters from his son, with whom he will review the flyer for assistance with financial worries. As Sahin and her team move further along the balcony, Gümüş invites them in. ‘Come and have coffee with me!’
Financial Worries
This visit in the Afrikaander district is part of the campaign ‘Financial Worries? I Help You’. For this, municipality staff, together with The Connection Room. Link opens an external page, go out into the streets and knock on doors in Rotterdam neighborhoods.
At markets and at the door, they give a flower and ask how Rotterdam residents are doing. Not just personally, but also financially. Next week there will be actions in Kralingen-Crooswijk.*
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Hidden Stories
In the Afrikaander district, Abigail Norville is participating. The Alderman for Poverty Reduction appreciates that municipality staff actively seek conversations with residents. ‘When you stand next to Rotterdam residents, hidden stories become visible.’
Norville: ‘You need to have courage to do what these colleagues are doing. You never know what happens after you ring the bell.’ One of the flower distributors who knocks on doors chuckles. ‘Sometimes someone opens the door in their underwear!’
Sahin notices that talking and listening at the door works. ‘In such an accessible conversation, the shame about financial worries disappears faster than when you meet at a municipal office.’
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Flyer for Finances
In the Afrikaander district, people are happy that the municipality comes to talk ‘just like that’. Along with the flower, everyone receives a flyer, whether at the market or at the door. It consists of 12 pages with regulations for Rotterdam residents with little money.
This ranges from social assistance to free public transport for children up to 12 years old. Not all regulations are known to Rotterdam residents. ‘If you don’t need it yourself, pass it on to people who can use it,’ Norville says as she hands out her flyers and flowers.
More Information
Are you curious about what regulations exist for Rotterdam residents with little money? All regulations from the municipality can be found on the page about financial worries. Link opens an external page. There you will also find the Money Guide. It provides you with quick online advice about regulations that may suit you.
* In the coming time, there will be street actions in Kralingen-Crooswijk. Teams from the municipality will be available for questions between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM and can help immediately. On Friday, June 20, the team will be on Crooswijkseweg. On Wednesday, June 25, next to the Pump Building in De Esch, and on Friday, June 27, on Vlietlaan in Kralingen.